Burned Up Controller

About 2 months ago I upgraded my controller to a Weathermatic SL 1600 and I have a 7 zone system so I have 2 of the four zone modules. It has worked GREAT until a few days ago when I noticed my lawn hadn't been watered for several days.
I went to check on the controller and the screen was blank. Checked for power at the outlet and was 120v. I put a new 12v battery in and the screen came back on. But a fault error was blinking on the screen. The built in diagnostics showed I had "0" zones and that the VAC output was only 6.87v
when it should read about 24 volts.
After researching online what could be wrong, it appeared I had a bad controller. I took it back to the supply house and they readily gave me a new controller under warranty.
I tried re-installing it this afternoon. After attaching all 7 zone wires, I plugged the controller into the outlet and started to run through the self tests again and it showed I had all 7 zones but a fault in zone 3.
This SL 1600 also has a built in valve locator feature that makes the valve chatter loud enough to find it under the grass. I set zone 3 to chatter only to have smoke start coming from my BRAND NEW CONTROLLER!
I quickly unplugged it. I removed the #3 Zone wire and plugged the unit back in but now it is doing the exact same thing as the 1st one that I replaced.
Can a bad valve cause the Controller to burn up? What else could be wrong?

The controller should handle any wiring problems, but just for grins, test the wiring before you connect another controller, and verify that there are no faults. There have been some bad transformers showing up in the Smartline controllers.

Thanks wet boots. As soon as the downpours stop here in Northern Indiana, I am going to set out to try and locate the #3 Valve (good luck) and replace. Reverted back to my trusty RAINBIRD controller and is working fine except for the #3 fault. I just like the more advanced features of the SL 1600.

You could have power coming back into the clock causing damage, or some other sort of wiring problem at the power outlet. I would get out my volt meter and start diagnosing before running your system, you might be in danger of putting power into your water system.

I have to say I have never had 1 failure on a SL1600 in the 3 years I have been using them for our larger installations. They are a great clock and easy to install. Something is going on here, and it makes me wonder about a ground being charged. Any new power lines or trenching going on in the yard?